An action plan for establishing and cultivating a good research culture can be a way for a team, an institute to implement the debates around the issue in a sustainable and broadl supported way. Implementing an action plan requires clear leadership accountability, a shared understanding of why the plan is important, and a clear process flow for reporting and moving forward.

HuMetricsHSS is an initiative for rethinking humane indicators of excellence in academia, focused particularly on the humanities and social sciences (HSS). Use this tool to guide you thinking to a more values-enacted approach to all kinds of academic work.

Attend trainings in the topics of bias, scientific culture, leadership, diversity: Especially managers, but also as teams. Periodically take advantage of offers and talk about them. The acquisition of professional and interdisciplinary competencies is made possible through appropriate offers, regardless of whether a career in the academic sector or outside of it is being pursued. Career paths leading out of academia are equally worthy of recognition, and scientific qualification is also valuable outside the academic sector, where the majority of doctoral graduates continue their careers.

In many areas of higher education, there is a tendency to work beyond contractual hours and to be available even on evenings and weekends. This can be a freedom, but it can also lead to overwork and stress. How to counteract the overtime culture:

• Leaders act as role models
• Set limits and communicate them (for example, with a note in the email signature).
• Discuss working hours within the team and with superiors.
• As a supervisor, monitor the working hours of your team members.
• Compensate overtime wherever possible
• Make it clear that more work does not necessarily mean better work
• Counteract the pressure to work longer hours than your team members